How a misleading hashtag mislead the public and led the media cycle
Did you hear that the White House canceled a program intended to investigate sex offenders illegally in the US? Here's what you should know.
Is Operation Talon a Chicken Little?
Multiple fantastical headlines now claim that President Biden canceled Operation Talon, a program investigating sex offenders illegally in the US.
Who would cancel such a project? You'd have to be out of your mind. That may be the exact response the author of a story may want you to have. And, if an author knows their audience, it may work. Let’s look at one potential way a reader can assess the claims.
What's Happening?
Here are two headlines on the story:
Breitbart: ‘No Reason’ for Biden to Terminate Operation Targeting Sex Offenders in Country Illegally
On Saturday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) stated that there is “no reason” for President Joe Biden’s cancellation of Operation Talon, an operation that targets sex offenders in the U.S. illegally.
No evidence was provided for the claim
Washington Post: New Biden rules for ICE point to fewer arrests and deportations and a more restrained agency
"ICE officials also canceled Operation Talon, a nationwide operation targeting sex offenders subject to deportation that had been planned in the final weeks of the Trump administration, emails show.
A senior ICE official said the Biden administration had nothing to do with that decision. Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, the official said they had not heard about the operation, but that it was possible that career staffers had planned it and set it aside while awaiting new instructions from the Biden team.
The official noted that Homeland Security Investigations, a separate wing of ICE that conducts criminal investigations, has continued investigating sex offenses involving U.S. citizens and non-citizens."
WP has emails it requested from the administration to verify the story.
Reassess
The White House didn't cancel it. ICE did. ICE terminated the program because we are already investigating sex offenses involving U.S. citizens and non-citizens through Homeland Security, so the project was redundant.
Operation Talon was drafted in the Trump administration's final weeks but was never launched.
ICE set the project aside because another agency has already taken on the task and is far more able to handle the task.
How can you be less vulnerable to influence and manipulation?
When you see a headline, stop. Ask, “what am I feeling, who benefits from that, and could there be more to the story?”
Stories are often framed to shape how readers feel about the situation. Decide how you feel for yourself by gathering all facts.
Partisan websites aim to promote a specific group or ideology. They know which way they will report before they gather the details. Outlets like this often exist to influence you, make money, or both.
Compare headlines across outlets to see how the story is being reported and whether one outlet leaves out information that leads its readers to misunderstand a situation.
If what someone says their opponent is doing sounds crazy, look at what other reliable outlets are reporting. Hyper-partisan websites often make someone appear illogical, but the situation appears this way to the reader because of the absence of relevant information.